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Topic : 11/23 Love Scams?

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Created on : Friday, September 22, 2006, 12:23:18 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

(Original Air Date: 09/28/06) It begins on a dating Web site with flattering e-mails and IMs with handsome photos attached. The man pours on the charm and soon professes love, but he needs money -- to pay medical bills, fund investments and, most importantly, to get back home to the States and finally meet his long-distance love. Is his love for real, or just an elaborate con? Despite being taken for thousands of dollars in bogus money orders, Dee-Dee believes the man she knows as Cole just needs to get home from Nigeria to make good on his debts and marry her. Then, Annette is sure she's being deceived by a man who claims to be a contractor in Africa, but that doesn't stop her from sending him money. Have these women really fallen in love or just fallen for an international scam? Share your own online dating stories and talk about the show here.

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Love Scams

I find it amazing that an intellegent woman can be taken in by a con artist, myself included. In 1978 I re-met an old friend and let myself believe his line of B.S. I was so embarassed that I allowed myself to get into that mess. This guy took me for anything and everything he could find while I was at work. I came home to find almost everything was gone, including my car! When he was late picking me up from work I knew what had happened and I prayed for myself to be wrong, but I knew in my heart that I was not wrong. Since then I"ve adopted a quote but can't remember whos quote is is. Anyway I quote "Isn't it strange that a woman can fake an orgasan, but a man can fake an entire relationship!" I don't date anymore because I've found that any man that is interested in me is only interested in what he can take from me.

I was almost scamed too

This guy calling himself John Billy claimed to be in China. He was "working" for some one in the states.

Here is some clues for you girls out there. The typing is bad and so is their English, they can't come back to the states, lack of money, they tell you how much they love you but never met you. They even use movie stars picks claiming that it's theirs.

The one that contacted me sent me a counterfeit check, claiming that it was from his employer here in the states. All they were looking for was my accounts so they could take from me. Once I got the check I took it to the bank. But before I put it in my account I had security check up on it and found out that it was no good. When he found out that I had caught him, he tried to blame me for the problem.

I had warned him ahead of time that I had a degree in Paralegal Studies and I check out every man that wants me to date him.

Nigerian Scam

Dear Dee-Dee:

Hello, my name is Michelle. I just wanted to share with you some of the contacts I have had with individuals from Nigeria. Several people claimed they are heirs to millions of dollars and wanted me to open an account for them in the United States. I would receive several hundred thousand dollars in compensation for this transaction. The propositions were sent to my email address.

In addition, I received several offers to purchase a couple vehicles that I had for sale on craigslist.com. The buyers were from Nigeria and wanted to send me a cashier's check for $3,000.00 for $500.00 cars. I was told to cash the check and send the remaining money with the person who picked up the cars. I was sent a cashier's check for $2,500.00 for one car and it was fake. I called the Secret Service and they informed me that if I had cashed the fake check, I would have gone to jail.

I do not know much about your situation, but please realize there are a lot of scams out there!!!

They all seem to be from Nigeria

I was not even on a dating site when I was contacted for the first time by such men and women. The first time was on a roommate web site. I was looking for a roommate for the second bedroom in my condo. I instinctively knew something was wrong with the e-mails. Some were too good to be true. Some were too quick to say I love you and others were asking bold questions or asking for too much information. They were always coy about themselves until they need money or help. I got wise to them rather quickly after the third person to contact me. I think what saved me from them was the lack of money. That may not sound like alot of sense but I have very little money and I also do not have a job that pays well. I am very afraid to part with money because I really do not have a safety net to fall back on. What would happen to me if they do not make good on their debt to me? I always have to think about that before I could consider helping some one with money. Time I have got but money, NO! Everyone who knows me will not ask for money because they know my situation and they are respectful of it. I also run inter-net contacts by my friends and if they see a pattern or something out of place. If anything is out of place or does not sound right they will tell me. With all relationships I wait as long as it takes for the real person to surface.

Love Scams

I took out a one month membership with match.com after seeing a Dr. Phil show about this new relationship service. The very first email message I got through match.com was from the very handsome contractor who said he was currently in Africa working on a project building a housing project. He said his home was in North or South Carolina (sorry I can't remember which), he was a widower raising his two children and they were his first priority. But the honey-tongued flattery he laid on me was unbelievable, and that coupled with his repetitive use of certain phrases and poor grammer sent up some red flags for me. Also, he wanted to stop communicating through match.com and asked me to set up an account on Yahoo IM so that we could talk. He wanted to know all kinds of details about me and my life but was very reluctant to provide any about his. So I asked him some very direct questions about what time of day it was in the region of Africa where he was, what the weather was like right then, what the season was, and he supplied answers which, when I checked them out on the internet were completely inconsistent. I blocked him. The next day I received an email through match.com from another very handsome man spouting basically the same profile, flattery, and sadly, the same repetitive grammer patterns. I blocked him. The next day, same thing, different photo, etc. This went on and on. I cancelled my subscription to match.com and allowed the remainder of the month to run out without using the service. There's $35.00 I'll never see again.

Nigeria/South Africa Scare the Heck out of me!

I just had to share this. Two years ago I was scammed by a Nigerian. It cost me over $11,000 and a bandruptcy. I did everything that I was told to do but nothing could be done. I almost lost the business where I had received the counterfeit cashier's check. I have done all kinds of reading on these types of scams and others and I don't want to see anyone go through that.

I have had countless folks ask me for prices for my products and they were going to outfit their stores with my products and pay by credit card. There credit cards are phony! I know to not answer any emails that come from Nigeria or any other foreign country. It is a waste of my time.

Please don't do business or anything personal with these people until you check them out, thouroughly!!!!!

I so agree

I took out a one month membership with match.com after seeing a Dr. Phil show about this new relationship service. The very first email message I got through match.com was from the very handsome contractor who said he was currently in Africa working on a project building a housing project. He said his home was in North or South Carolina (sorry I can't remember which), he was a widower raising his two children and they were his first priority. But the honey-tongued flattery he laid on me was unbelievable, and that coupled with his repetitive use of certain phrases and poor grammer sent up some red flags for me. Also, he wanted to stop communicating through match.com and asked me to set up an account on Yahoo IM so that we could talk. He wanted to know all kinds of details about me and my life but was very reluctant to provide any about his. So I asked him some very direct questions about what time of day it was in the region of Africa where he was, what the weather was like right then, what the season was, and he supplied answers which, when I checked them out on the internet were completely inconsistent. I blocked him. The next day I received an email through match.com from another very handsome man spouting basically the same profile, flattery, and sadly, the same repetitive grammer patterns. I blocked him. The next day, same thing, different photo, etc. This went on and on. I cancelled my subscription to match.com and allowed the remainder of the month to run out without using the service. There's $35.00 I'll never see again.

The only thing they are looking for is to get laid also. I am a very pretty girl and have lost alot of weight. I am fun adn a good person. this last guy after telling me how chunky I am still wanted me to have sex. than he came up with this nick name I hate softic. What the hell was that supposed to mean. he said I have not ever been with a girl who has a little chunk on them. I was so stupid drunk I had sex with him and am mad because the other guys I was not drunk and ran far. One guy I said excuse me get off of me. Men are gross and I can see why woman are attracted to other woman. Taht guy was also smaller than me in height and really was small. I think he was saying stuff about my body to make him b\feel better about what he lacked. I was very nice to him also. He even had the nerve to tell me what days and night I could see him and how don't be angry if he didn't call for days because he has a life and this is just some fun thing. In three weeks we would be moving on but he will have brokern my heart adn he didn't \want a phyco on his hands. The two times he took me out he ordered expensive things and hated them and became angry.

All I could think about was how my ex husband had treated me and loved me and how I wished I could just run.

I really will not be treated like I am a piece of meat any more. It is better to be alone and not deal with the gross men.

What is up with that, they are all from Nigeria.

I was not even on a dating site when I was contacted for the first time by such men and women. The first time was on a roommate web site. I was looking for a roommate for the second bedroom in my condo. I instinctively knew something was wrong with the e-mails. Some were too good to be true. Some were too quick to say I love you and others were asking bold questions or asking for too much information. They were always coy about themselves until they need money or help. I got wise to them rather quickly after the third person to contact me. I think what saved me from them was the lack of money. That may not sound like alot of sense but I have very little money and I also do not have a job that pays well. I am very afraid to part with money because I really do not have a safety net to fall back on. What would happen to me if they do not make good on their debt to me? I always have to think about that before I could consider helping some one with money. Time I have got but money, NO! Everyone who knows me will not ask for money because they know my situation and they are respectful of it. I also run inter-net contacts by my friends and if they see a pattern or something out of place. If anything is out of place or does not sound right they will tell me. With all relationships I wait as long as it takes for the real person to surface.

How do they get our emails. All of these men from Nigeria. All they ask for is money and how we can get them here to the US. Do they think we are such losers that we would be stupid to do that. they even harras my children. Asking for sex and money. How do we stop them?

Use your head, not your heart !

I've been around on the web for years and I've heard so much about on-line romances. I've only heard of ONE time it worked ! Those two were both very cautious, took thier time and had more than one meeting on neutral territory befor they felt they could trust each other fully. A lesson to be learned here !

Anyone who asks you for money is probably out to take you ! Doesnt matter how much he/she says she loves you, or what they say they need it for ,you best be VERY sure indeed that you know what your doing !

About the e-mail scams...its the same deal..if they ask you for money, delete it up front ! If you dont know who its from in the first place you shouldn't even open it. The stories they tell to get your bucks are simply unbelievable...eveything from a child with cancer needing help to you won the Lottery somewhere ! ALWAYS check Urban ledgends or another reliable source before you jump into thier messes.

In closing, anyone who asks you for money.."Boyfriend" or "Girlfriend" is probably out to clean you out..USE YOUR HEAD, NOT YOUR HEART !

It amazes me how stupid these people think we are.

It makes me sad to think that we are so lonely to let these losers in. I won't ever us my computer for anything but important stuff. No more losers. i have no idea how they get our information but yes. i received in the mail 10,000 worth of bad money orders because my daughter thought she was selling her key board to this loser in Nigeria . They used my address to mail all of these fake money orders to us. I took them to the police and gave them all of the info. Than I emailed them back what I have done. I just wish I had not given my address to the losers. Those people harase us all the time. I block all of there stuff. Do they think we are so stupid to give them money and passage to our beautiful country. Why would I want so loser like that to have what I have. I only give to people who are deserving of my kindness.